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Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Steena Holmes' "Impossible Dream"...plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Melissa AmsterIf Steena Holmes ever wants to do Broadway Carpool Karaoke, she knows where to find me. Especially since no one in her family wants to be a part of it. It makes me thankful for the Hamilton sing-alongs with my kids when we're all in the car together.Steena is here today to talk about musicals and feature her latest novel, Abby's Journey. It is a follow-up to Saving Abby, so we will not share the synopsis as to avoid giving spoilers. We know you'll want to read both books though! Thanks to TLC Book Tours, there's a copy of Abby's Journey up for grabs right here! Visit all the stops on Steena's tour for more chances to win.After writing her first novel while working as a receptionist, Steena Holmes made her dream of being a full-time writer a reality. She won the National Indie Excellence Book Award in 2012 for her bestselling novel Finding Emma. Now both a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Steena continues to write stories that touch every parent’s heart in one way or another. To find out more about her books and her love for traveling, visit her on social media.Find Steena online:WebsiteFacebookTwitterInstagram

I DREAMED A DREAM…

Picture this with me: it’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon and we’re headed to an outdoor market an hour away. The windows are down, the radio on, we’ve got our frapps and we’re chatting away about all things life (for instance, the latest chocolate icing you made and loved or a trip we would love to take or figuring out what we should make our families for dinner tonight…you know…life stuff).

And then it happens.

"Into the Woods" comes on or "Satisfied" from Hamilton and instantly all conversation stops, the music is turned up and we’re belting out the words loud enough that our throats hurt afterwards. As soon as the song ends, our souls are full, our hearts happy and the twinkle in our eyes suggest a secret only the two of us understand.

Sounds perfect right? It is…if it’s you and I in the car together.

But when it’s me and my three beautiful teenage daughters…apparently it’s their worst nightmare. I can’t imagine how that is…who doesn’t love musicals?

My daughters, for one. They roll their eyes, shake their heads, stuff their ears with headphones and pretend I don’t exist. If there are other vehicles around us and I’m stopped, they beg me to roll up the windows or to turn the volume down.

I’m not sure if it’s my singing, my passion for the song (I use my hands to emphasis the words…as you do) or if it’s because I’m that uncool. I figure it’s all three…which means, I do it every chance I can get and will purposely select show tunes from my phone to listen to.

I grew up surrounded by musicals. My best friends shared my passion for them and going to a musical is one of my happy places. You know what I mean, right? I’m determined to ensure my daughters grow up loving them too…even if it means bribing them to sit and watch a musical with me or attend a live show.

It’s my dream that one day, while we’re driving down the highway with the windows down that they’ll be the ones to turn the radio up when "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables comes on.Thanks to Steena for her lovely guest post and to TLC Book Tours for sharing Abby's Journey with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

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